Hello Everyone I haven't had my surgery yet, but have done all of my work-ups preparing my for the surgery. I went in speak with the Dr. That will be doing my surgery and I was sure how much my insurance will cover and it was surprising to me that, I had my blood work done, EKG and have an appointment next week to finish everything else that is needed for the surgery to be done, with my insurance I don't have to diet before they will cover and I'm exited but a little scared at the same time. I have the best husband in the world he is so supportive of my choice of weight lost. Can someone tell me what is there to expect once I have the surgery done:-) Thanks to anyone and all that reply:-)

I just had band put in on 4/10 going for first post op today, I was a little sore but they give you pain meds for that, you have to walk or the gas pains will kill you!!!! So walk walk walk, I was hungry all weeks because they usually do not fill band during surgery, but I still got full quick and most important stick to post op diet no matter how hungry you feel, its so your band and new stomach can heal!! On my scale I have lost 10 lbs since 4/10 thats only 9 days with an empty band but we will see what dr says I will get back to you...if you want to e-mail me with any ? its bridg29@yahoo.com

I have to admit that I liked the fact that my insurance/clinic required informational meetings, support meetings, nutritional counselling and other items before I had surgery.

Having a supportive spouse will be great but I would also suggest looking for another type of support group, even if it is online. Knowledge is power and the more you know the more it will help you along your journey.

I just had surgery last Friday. I would say things have been pretty easy for me since surgery. The toughest part for me has been learning to listen to my body and learn when to eat and getting enough liquids and proteins in.

Good Luck on your journey!

I think surgery depends on each person. The biggest issue I had was pain in my shoulder that would not go away. They say it's because of the gas that they blow you up with, but mine seems to still be an issue for me at times, possibly something to do with the nerve near my diaphram being sensitive to the band. Don't want to scare you, most people apparently only feel this when they eat too much or too fast. Other than that I took a week off work, I was sore, but whatever you do, don't drink from a straw. I made that mistake early on and I had the worst stomach pains that would take my breath away. Other than that, I am almost 3 months past surgery and just hit a 40# loss. Best choice I ever made. Thats great your husband is all in this with you. Mine is to and it really helps, believe me. Both of us have lost weight and since I can't eat as much and have to stick to a healthier diet, so does he Good luck to you.

my insurance didn't have me do any kind of a diet before I had the surgery either. I really found out pretty much everything I know about lap band from reading this board and talking with my doctor/nutritionist. My hubby was NOT on board in the beginning, but I told him that I was having the surgery with or without his blessing. While he wasn't thrilled with my decision then, he's coping with it now and he has really jumped in helping me with food choices and not eating some things in front of me. when we go out to dinner, we will split an entree or i will bring leftovers home and he is totally ok with it. He's been a real trooper and now he doesn't even consciously think about me having the band. to him, we are just living normal lives. i think that is true for me too.

for the first time in my life, where food is concerned, i feel like a normal person. i eat normal portions and not huge mounds of food. looking back at what i used to be able to eat i'm amazed that i could eat that much food! no wonder i was so fat

Anyway, besides my DH, the only people who even know about my surgery are the people in my support group. we meet about once a month and i haven't been in probably the past 3 months because of having to work late. I decided not to tell anyone about it and so far I'm happy with that decision. I like the fact that people don't monitor what goes into my mouth or constantly ask me for dieting updates. It has been liberating really.

Anyway, didn't mean to bombard you with useless information, but just wanted to say that this website was and is a great resource. read as much of it as you can, but also realize that every person is different and what some people experience, you may not experience. for example, I had zero gas pains in my shoulder that everyone talks about having. Nothing, nada. No pain except for just the wounds healing and even they didn't hurt that bad. I am able to guzzle Water and drink through straws, I enjoy a beer now and again with no trouble. I eat bread and shrimp and burgers and pizza every once in a while (not every day) some people can't tolerate those things, but I have no trouble. Everyone will have a different experience.

Always follow whatever plan your doctor has for you and you can do it! Best of luck to you.

Thank you so much for the reply ladies, im attending a support group May 12,2012 my Dr. Asked that I attend before just to get a fill of things, I haven't told anyone as well I feel the same way about all of the diet question. My husband had attended every meeting, appointment that I have had he stated that anything that I go through he will be right there because we are in this together:-) I'm a very private person and I think that this website will help me with my journey. I will keep you all posted, keep up the Fab work.

I can relate. I am a private person too. I really haven't had a lot of questions about my weight...just some comments about how good I look. I just smile and say 'thank you' and go about my day.

with your hubby supporting you, this will be much easier for you to get through. I know I couldn't have come this far without mine helping me and being there for me. It's nice to know that we don't have to do it alone. It really has made all of the difference in the world.

I am in the three month dr. Supervised weight loss program my insurance requires, but I don't plan on telling anyone except my sister who is my accounting person. I selected lap band because I didn't want super drastic weight loss, just something more natural.

Hello I haven't told anyone as well, I think that's a good thing because we don't have to worry about someone asking how is it going and couldn't you have lost that on your own, or how could you afford something like that, or you lost alot of weight last but what happened this year. These are the things I hear people say to a co-worker that had it and she is so depress when they ask her about her weight. I'm new to this and I'm wanting to be healthy and live better. I have no health problems nore do I take medication for anything, being 270lbs and 5'5 is a lot. We can do this and it's seem to be a road of choice so we can do this. Woohoo we are doing this for change:-) 2012 we can do it!!!!

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Hello I haven't told anyone as well' date=' I think that's a good thing because we don't have to worry about someone asking how is it going and couldn't you have lost that on your own, or how could you afford something like that, or you lost alot of weight last but what happened this year. These are the things I hear people say to a co-worker that had it and she is so depress when they ask her about her weight. I'm new to this and I'm wanting to be healthy and live better. I have no health problems nore do I take medication for anything, being 270lbs and 5'5 is a lot. We can do this and it's seem to be a road of choice so we can do this. Woohoo we are doing this for change:-) 2012 we can do it!!!!

Sent from my iPad using LapBandTalk[/quote']

Ehh..I told most people from work. At first I thought it will hold me more accountable but I do worry I will have 30 eyes on me all the time ( or it might feel that way) but I was just banded today so we will see. This site helps a lot...i love the different views and experiences.

I think it's interesting to read peoples decisions on whether to tell or not to tell. I especially like to read their reasons for their choice.

For me I had been working with my clinic and already lost 70 lbs prior to surgery. I have pretty much told everybody. I let them know that it is only a tool and that I can gain the weight back. I chose this over bypass because I know I need someone besides myself to be accountable to for my weight and because I feel with the band you do need life long follow up, and for me that's a plus.

By letting others know I also hope that if there is someone contemplating the surgery they will feel comfortable asking me anything about it.

My desire not to tell is based on several issues...the first being my mother, although I love her an she loves me she is the most negative person I know. She has always been negative but lately it is even worse. I know she would be watching to see when I fail so she coul report it to everyone she knows. The second is I feel that people would be watching me, both for good and bad, but I just don't want to live in a fish bowl. I'm not saying I will keep it quiet forever but for me I think I will do better if for now it is on the downlow.